In Uzbekistan, loans of up to 500 million soums will be issued to projects without a business plan
State-owned banks of Uzbekistan have been instructed to change their approach to business lending: to take into account real cash flows, orders, and turnover, rather than just collateral. For projects up to 500 million soums, a business plan will not be required, and a long-term contract with a major customer can be used as collateral.
In Uzbekistan, loans of up to 500 million soums will be provided to projects without a business plan
State-owned banks in Uzbekistan have been instructed to abandon traditional collateral-based lending and transition to assessing the actual cash flow of businesses. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced this on September 24 during a meeting in Andijan.
As noted at the meeting, since the beginning of the year, 35,000 people have been unable to obtain loans due to a lack of collateral or a guarantor. The head of state emphasized that banks should not limit themselves to traditional types of security and uniform standard conditions for all clients.
Now, when issuing loans, it is proposed to take greater account of actual cash flows, orders and contracts, accounts receivable, turnover, and the entrepreneur's position in the business chain.
In particular, a bank will be able to accept a small business's long-term contract with a leading enterprise or a large customer as loan collateral.
For projects worth up to 500 million soums, a business plan will not be required. The decision to issue a loan should be made based on the business's cash flows rather than the value of the collateral.
When financing the purchase of raw materials for the production of export goods, an insurance policy will suffice as collateral.
Nine state-owned banks have been instructed to develop and propose 20 new banking products within a month, which should help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Bankers in mahallas will explain the new services to the population and entrepreneurs.
In August, the president also stated the need to build a system that will support entrepreneurs from business launch to scaling. In August, the "Business Start," "Business Lift," and "Business Yuksalish" (Business Growth) programs were announced, along with a system of "counter-guarantees" to reduce collateral requirements for loans of up to 10 billion soums.